Trends (part 3)

Ok, and now for some exciting and positive trends.

The Explosion of Majority World Christianity
A hundred years ago, Christianity was primarily an American and European movement. Today the locus of Christian influence lies in the "Majority World" (or Global South), or what we once called the "Third World" or "Developing World." We use the term Majority World because it signifies that 4/5ths of the world's popluation lives in either Africa, Asia, or South America. The church is experiencing its most steady and rapid growth in the Majority World. Philip Jenkins wrote about this in his must read The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, pointing out that the Majority World christianity is growing at astronomical rates. The average Christian today is actually poor and African.

This is tremendous news, because the gospel has gone out and not returned empty. Missionaries from India, Mexico, Korea, China, and Kenya now go out all over the world preaching the gospel in word and deed. These are exciting times as the gospel is going out from everyone to everywhere. Most likely it will be believers from Africa and Asia who will complete the task of world evangelization.

With this come some challenging opportunities. One is the need for partnership instead of patriarchal mission. The other is to begin to allow leaders and thinkers from the Majority World to begin to have a greater impact on our Western theologies, methods, and perspectives. As Christians in the West we need to create space and opportunties for Christians from the Majority World to take leadership, add insight, and construct together a team oriented and multi-cultural framework for mission. Also, our own assumptions and hermenuetics will be challenged and forced to be re-thought as Majority World Christiantiy (which is much more supernatural, urgent, vibrant, and atune to the marginalized) continues to interact with the West. African, Asian, and Latin American theologies are adding to the riches and depth of the christian tradition. We should begin to drink from their wells.


The Growth and Influence of Pentecostals and Charismatics
One of the most under reported, but most amazing news stories of the 20th century was how a handful of people in the early 1900's started a movement within Christianity which now (loosely) claims some 500 million people. That is also to say that the majority of Christians in the world are also oriented towards pentecostal or charismatic (being the movement of pentecostalism that moved into and renewed the mainline churches: Methodist, Anglican (see Alpha), Presbyterian, Catholic, etc.) expressions of faith.

Pentecostalism in general has helped Christianity spread rapidly throughout the globe, with its emphasis on the power of the Holy Spitit, the supernatural (a commonplace issue in the Majority World), radical transformation, social transformation, holistic healing, and the belief that anyone (no matter how poor or uneducated) can and should be a minister of the gospel. Moreover, these basic Biblical beliefs have also highly influenced many outside the pentecostal movement in areas of worship, healing, mission, and service. In my one life, it has been my interactions with poor and marginalized (but extremely smart) pentecostals, who firmly believe in the power of the gospel and for God to show up in a powerful ways, that have forced me to re-consider the gospel and what exactly the Bible is saying. Sure there are issues within the pentecostal world, but pentecostalism in may ways has helped to continue to fan the fire of mission and social transformation.


The Rise of a Truly Global Church
There is a beautiful image in Revelation of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation worshipping God. In our world today, this is becoming more and more the reality. The church is a multi-cultural unity of God's people. I firmly believe that it is in the diverse and many tongued worship and service of our God, that the true and complete face of the church will be finally expressed. That is, every cultural has its unique expressions, perspectives, lessons, and perceptions to add to the service of the King. Until they are all in place, the body of Christ here on earth is not fully complete.

And so we come to the knowledge that God as he promised is building his church from all the nations, near and far. All the nations will be blessed. This has far reaching implications for the world-wide body of Christ. It hopefully will be an expression of unity and love in the Holy Spirit through humility and service to each other, regardless of our cultures and histories. It will hopefully be an amazing witness of Christ's love as whites and blacks, Jews and Arabs, Tutsis and Hutus, come together to worship and serve. The unity of a global church can also bring to bear tremendous global resources (spiritual, intellectual, and physical) to finish the tasks of fulfilling the Great Commission and in completely loving our neighbors. Could a unified global church eradicate extreme poverty? Defeat the AIDS pandemic? End senseless wars? Bring God's blinding love to the most unreached and dark places in this world? The answer, I believe is yes.


The above are all good things, and as we as a church move forward in worship of God and mission to the world, we must bear these issues in mind, or we may miss something.